Freedom of Choice: King of the Road + KTMs

The latest Mater Cars for Cancer lottery offers you the chance, and the choice, to win a massive Chevrolet Suburban 1500HD, a pair of KTM 500 EXC-F enduro bikes and a trailer to haul them into the never-never. To take the road less travelled, then leave the road completely, grab a ticket here.

Camping is fun; chilling around a campfire by night, gazing into a pitch-black abyss that stretches forever, perforated by a billion ancient stars. Retiring to a luxury caravan is nice for some, but for others, it’s a cheat. Maybe it should be all about braving the elements and pitching a tent, just like the pioneering explorers of old. But what to do when the sun has risen, the billy has boiled, and coffee has been chugged?

Well, that’s when it’s time to hit the dusty trail, side by side into uncharted territory. And we don’t mean on foot; you’re not Burke and/or Wills. We mean barrelling headlong into the unknown on a pair of bright orange, 510cc four-stroke KTM 500 EXC-F enduro bikes.

If this sounds like your cup of billy-boiled tea, then Mater Cars for Cancer calls on you to help development a cure and ease the lives of those suffering cancer by simply buying a ticket in the current lottery. If your number is drawn, tell them you want the ‘Ride’ prize pool.

In a lottery first, Mater Cars for Cancer is giving the prize winner their choice of a LandCruiser and a Jayco caravan or a Chevrolet Silverado 1500HD and a pair of KTM 500 EXC-F enduro bikes, plus a trailer to tow them with. The EXC-F is Australia’s favourite enduro, able to tour the highways and conquer inhospitable terrain in equal measure. With tonnes of torque, a quick flick of the wrist will get the front wheel up and over almost anything in its path.

It’s this go-anywhere ability that has seen the rugged KTM triumph in the Northern Terrority’s brutal Finke Desert Race nine times since 2010. Add to this outright success in Victoria’s Hattah Desert Race four years on the trot from 2014 and you know you’ve got a seriously good bike.

Even though the KTM is a heavy-duty dirt bike, you’re probably thinking that a 6.2 litre V8 pick-up truck weighing over 2.5 tonnes is overkill. And you’d be right. But how boss does it look? After all, the beloved Aussie ute is dead, in its place a dozen high-riding, dual cab, hay haulers. They’re practical, reliable and some are even stylish. But are any of them tough? Not tough as in ‘rugged’, tough as in ‘tuff’. You know a bluff, brutish statement of automotive domination. Probably not, which is why rigs like the Chevrolet Silverado exist. Take a look at that face and tell me you don’t want to buy a ticket just for the opportunity to completely own the road.

Converted by General Motors Specialty Vehicles, the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado is the latest in a long line of American pick ups that date back almost to the dawn of the automobile itself. Of course, the humble ‘Merican farm truck has come a long way in the last century, with the 2021 Silverado rolling more tech than Silicon Valley.

The stop-start 6.2 litre V8 rocks an impressive 313kw of power and 624Nm of torque through a 10-speed auto trans, supplemented by Chevrolet’s Autotrac 4WD transfer case. This means when the going gets tough, you keep on going. And you keep on going in comfort, with the Silverado sporting dual zone climate control, a power sunroof, wireless phone charging, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a seven-speaker sound system from Bose including a Richbass woofer.

So, the choice is yours and for some, it will be a hard decision to make. Do you slide away quietly in the LandCruiser to sip sensible Jasmine tea by the Jayco? Or challenge Toby Price for outright honours in the Finke Desert Race with the Silverado support truck chocked full of parts and tools? First step though, buy a ticket and put yourself in the position to consider it.